Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that is useful for detecting analytes in both a quantitative and a qualitative way. During the MS process, detectable molecules, called mass tags, are ionized to generate charged molecules or molecule fragments and subsequently the mass-to-charge ratio of these molecules is measured.
MS is a highly versatile technology that can be used in various scenarios of analyte detection, for example, in biomedical diagnostics, and environmental analysis. For example, MS can be used to determine the presence or absence of an analyte, for example, a protein, nucleic acid, biomolecules, or small molecule compound, in a sample (for example, a biological sample), and/or to quantify an analyte in a sample.
While conventional MS assays are capable of detecting multiple analytes, e.g., peptides, simultaneously, quantitative analysis of multiple samples, e.g. from different individuals or time points, is currently limited to 4-plex, 6-plex, and 8-plex formats. Further, different analytes often have widely varying physiochemical properties, and, thus, MS properties, which results in similarly wide variability in sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of MS based detection of different analytes. This variability in physiochemical properties of different analytes limits accurate simultaneous quantification of such different analytes in multiplex MS assays. The detection of multiple naturally-occurring or endogenous analytes, the chemical structures, of which often widely vary, also often necessitate monitoring a wide mass window in a single MS assay, which can be very time-intensive. Further, the detection of target analytes in complex samples, such as biological samples (e.g., blood, serum, or tissue biopsies), is often difficult and challenging without extensive prior front-end processing prior to MS assays.